Modern Design

For The Birds.

Now that I have a yard again, and I can enjoy things like song birds on my back porch I’ve become interested in birdhouses and feeders. Like before when I owned the Modular 4 house on Lloyd, I have begun searching for something that doesn’t look like the standard stuff you see at Home Depot or Lowes. Unfortunately most feeders and houses look like the same stuff that has been around for decades. Fortunately though, Dutch designer Vincent Bos has created a new birdhouse has a wonderful modern look to it.

The collection is an environmentally conscious series constructed of oak, porcelain, and powder coated steel. They are hand made and designed specifically for outdoor use. “Wall Elements” was designed with durability and versatility in mind. It is a modular system that can be assembled to work in any garden space. The mount for each house can be attached to a wall, fence post or any vertical surface.

I love the clean look, the playful nature and the use of environmentally friendly materials. I will say this, they aren’t cheap. The average price is about $250.00 dollars. If you want a Wall Elements Birdhouse you can pick one up – here. I love the look but I think I am going to continue to search for something just as stylish and more on budget.

Send Massimo Vignelli a Letter.

Massimo Vignelli, the legendary Italian graphic designer, is very ill and spending his last days at home with his family. Over the last week a number of sites have been asking for fans, designers, and everyone to send Vignelli a card or a hand written letter. You may not know who he is, if you don’t work in the field of design. You do however know who he is, because his work is everywhere. Vignelli has had a massive impact on the field of visual design since he arrived in the United States in the 1960’s, and his work will have an impact for decades to come. Luca Vignelli put out the call to the internet last Friday on The Creative Review, asking that anyone for whom Vignelli was an influence or an inspiration to write him a letter. Yes a real physical snail mail letter. I dropped mine in the post last Saturday. Below are a couple of videos of Vignelli talking about his work. The first was produced by Mohawk Paper about a year ago. The second, if you have time to watch it, is from VCU and is 23 minutes of Vignelli talking about design, theory, practice and principal. Both are worth watching. Both show why Vignelli is a true master of design.

You can send him a note at the following address.

Massimo Vignelli
130 East 67 Street
New York, New York 10021

Punk Goes Swiss Modern.

There is something so completely humorous and ironic about designer Mike Joyce’s personal project “swissted“. Punk gig posters look nothing like the highly stylized images Joyce has created using a Swiss Modern / International Style approach. While his posters are beautifully designed they are the antithesis of punk band gig posters from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. The two movements have nothing to do with each other stylistically, and the cool modern design look flies in the face of all things punk rock.

Each poster design is set in lowercase berthold akzidenz-grotesk medium (no it’s not helvetica), and each poster represents a show that actually happened (there are a boat load of them too.) Frankly I think these posters are great. Wonderful design, typography, and color pallets. What I’d really like to see is a comparison between these and the original flyers they are based on. I’m sure

swissted is now available as a book from quirk books. You can get it here.

That Wine is STACT.

Wine racks are one of those things that haven’t really changed much over the decades. Most racks consist of boxes stacked together at 45 or 90 degree angles big enough to hold a bottle on it’s side. So when I saw STACT on Kick starter this morning I have to say I was just a wee bit happy.

STACT designed by Eric Pfeiffer is a modular wine storage system that is made from aircraft-grade anodized aluminum and premium wood veneers. The system is modular, and scalable to grow with your ever expanding collection of fine French Bordeaux’s.

Each STACT panel comes with pre-installed anchors for a secure mount to the wall via the included F-brackets. The system allows you to mix and match six finishes which include walnut, white oak, zebrano, piano black, pure white, and electric orange.

Right now STACT is going into production with delivery scheduled for November. For more information go to the STACT Kickstarter Page.

“With a modern aesthetic in mind, STACT is crafted from high quality aircraft-grade aluminum and premium wood veneers, with a high-end appeal previously found only in modern wine cellars, avant-garde restaurants, and wine bars. The patent-pending versatile and space efficient modular design is infinitely expandable and customizable, a cinch to assemble, and seamlessly integrates into any space or décor.”